Controlled delivery of multiple drugs from a single device is an area of interest because of the potential of delivering a series of drugs in a treatment regimen in a specific release profile. For example, current fixed time artificial insemination (FTAI) treatments for cattle require the administration of multiple drugs at specific times. These treatments result in significant time spent driving, herding, and chuting the cattle, cause stress and increased cortisol levels in the subjects, and require multiple drug delivery devices and precise drug administration timing.
Transmucosal drug delivery is an area of interest because of the potential of delivering systemically-acting drugs with a high relative bioavailability by avoiding first-pass metabolism effects, the potential of locally delivering therapeutic agents to a site of interest, and the convenience of application routes. Some of the possible sites for transmucosal drug delivery include the buccal, nasal, vaginal, and rectal administration routes. In many of these delivery methods, it is important that the inserted device be retained at the intended intraluminal insertion site for an extended period of time, typically while the subject maintains its usual levels of activity. In various embodiments, the means of retention should be reliable and relatively easy to use, and it should be relatively easy for the physician, subject, or others to remove the intraluminal device at the appropriate time. There is thus a need to provide improved means of deploying and retaining such intraluminal drug delivery devices.